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![[IfD] May 2010 - "Wanted: Rare Hunters" - an explaination of card values Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
INTRODCTION
Given all the fuss about card values and card trades, I think it would be best for people to review why cards are worth certain amounts. Especially in a game with no set rotation, it's important how the values of cards can spike or drop rapidly, and why certain cards are worth more then others.
As such, I've gone to the liberty of identifying several key factors that influence a card's value on the secondary market. Do note that this list is by no means definitive - there are most likely other factors I didn't cover, and even with the ones I cover I only provide general descriptions. Rather, this article is meant to aid you in identifying why cards are worth what they are.
Basic Market Influences
1. Rarity
This is the most obvious factor in card values, and ones that you should all be aware of. A common card is rarely worth more then a rare, a rare is almost never worth more then a Super Rare, and so on. Thus, on an average basis a Secret Rare is usually the most expensive of cards in a set.
2. Recency
This is acutally a rule used in public speaking and essay writing, but it applies as much in card values. The Recency rule is that the newer a card is, the more it is worth compared to a similar card in an older set. That is because it the the most recent set people remember when considering cards - who remembers by heart all the cards in Ancient Sanctuary compared to Absolute Powerforce? In real terms, an Ultra Rare from "The Shining Darkness" will be worth more then an Ultra from "The Duelist Genesis", simply because "The Shining Darkness" is a more recent set and there is less of it on the secondary market as a whole compared to "The Duelist Gensis".
3. Market Availability
Following on from Number 2, the more copies of a card that on the secondary market, the lower that card's value is. This also links back to number one in a sense - it's easy to pick up commons and rares, but not as easy to pick up Secret Rares. However, there are more likely to be Secret Rares from older sets on the secondary market then from newer, and so those Secrets, despite being Secrets, would have a lower market value.
4. Set Popularity
This also links to Recency, but acts as a cantributing and opposing force to card numbers. That is, the more popular a set is, the more cards from that set on a whole will exist on the secondary market. However, hard-to-find cards from unpopular sets will invariably be worth more then those from more recent sets, simply becuase there's not enough of them on the secondary market that when they do appear they are highly valuable. Go take a look at Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes for an example of this.
5. Card Ratios
Ever wonder why Gravekeeper's Spy is worth a lot compared to most rares? Or why during the Chaos era Smashing Ground went for $5 each? It's related to card ratios within packs. Within each ratio for a set of Commons, Rares, Foils, and Secrets exist ratios to determine how many of each card is printed within each set.
This is offically recognised in Short-Print commons - commons deliberately printed at a lower ratio to other commons within a set. Of course, there are those who argue that this exists with every rarity in every set, hence why some Secrets are harder to pull then others. I won't go into such an argument (most of it revolves around conspiracy theories involving Konami wanting more money by modifying ratios of highly-sought cards... why would they want to do that to their players
) but it's a small influencing factor on market availability of cards.
5. Ease of Access
A card's value depends on the number of reprints it has undergone. Take Stardust Dragon. First reprinted as an Ultra/Ultimate/Ghost in The Duelist Genesis, then reprinted in a collector tin, and then in Duelist Pack Yusei as a Super Rare. The Value of Stardust Dragon as such will be lower then other Ultras which have not been reprinted as many times, even though Stardust Dragon in itself is a sought-after card by competitive players (more on that below).
Gaming Influences
1. Basic Playability
It's fairly obvious that some cards are unplayble in any competitive scene and some are. The more useful a card is to a compteitive player, the more valuable it is.
2. Archetype
If a card exists within a certain archetype then that card will usually be worth more then the random cards that don't quite fit into an obvious archetype. This also applies between archetpyes - the more successful an archetype is on a comptetitive level, the more valueable the cards within that archetpye will be compared to cards from a not-as-successful one.
3. Archtype Compatibility
Even if a card does not specifically exist within an archetype, if a card is compatible with a successful archetype then it's value will increase. An example I can easily point to is Icarus Attack in Blackwings, or Beckoning Light in Lightsworn. Sometimes, cards outside of most archetypes are compatible with each other to the point that they form an archtype within themselves - the main example of this is 'Stun', formed from cards that can deny effects or resources to an opponent that their decks would ordinarily use in their strategies and simplifing the game in favour of the Stun deck.
4. Generic Compatibility
This category is for those cards that can work well in almost any archetype regardless of theme. Such cards are commonly referred to as 'staples' of a deck, and are used by most competitive players. Examples include Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, Mirror Force, Brain Control, and so on. Other 'staples' are related to themes, but work well in any archetype that follows that theme - a common example is Dark Armed Dragon in any deck with DARK monsters.
5. Archetpe Usefulness
Within each archetype there will inevitably be certain cards within that archetype that are more useful then others. Though an archtype may be successful in a compteitive level, not all those cards within that archetype will be seen as useful by competitive players. Those cards which are become more valuable then those that aren't.
6. Ease of Access
This may sound like the same point above in Market Influences, but refers to a different ease of access. What I mean by this is that the more a card can be accessed within an archetype, the more useful it is on a whole, thus increasing its usefulness and value. XX-Saber Emmersblade and XX-Saber Darksoul, the searchers of the X-Saber set are seen as highly valuable because together they can search most monsters in the X-Saber deck (Darksoul technically does this by himself, but Emmersblade is a battle-searcher). Whatever these cards can search and are seen as useful by competitive players also rise in value, thus increasing the cost of the whole archetype.
On the other hand, a card may have an overwhelming effect, but if it is difficult to pull out, then the card isn't seen as valuable and so isn't worth as much. One example is The Wicked Avatar, whom can overpower almost any monster in the game and deny Spells and Traps for two turns, but requires three monsters to be Tributed for its Tribute Summon. Such a card is seen as too difficult to summon for its effect, and so therefore isn't seen as valuable.
Conclusion
As I said before, this is only meant to be a rough guide of factors that influence the price of a card. Still, it would be good to keep these in mind when buying, trading, or selling cards.
- ItemfinderDeluxe
Given all the fuss about card values and card trades, I think it would be best for people to review why cards are worth certain amounts. Especially in a game with no set rotation, it's important how the values of cards can spike or drop rapidly, and why certain cards are worth more then others.
As such, I've gone to the liberty of identifying several key factors that influence a card's value on the secondary market. Do note that this list is by no means definitive - there are most likely other factors I didn't cover, and even with the ones I cover I only provide general descriptions. Rather, this article is meant to aid you in identifying why cards are worth what they are.
Basic Market Influences
1. Rarity
This is the most obvious factor in card values, and ones that you should all be aware of. A common card is rarely worth more then a rare, a rare is almost never worth more then a Super Rare, and so on. Thus, on an average basis a Secret Rare is usually the most expensive of cards in a set.
2. Recency
This is acutally a rule used in public speaking and essay writing, but it applies as much in card values. The Recency rule is that the newer a card is, the more it is worth compared to a similar card in an older set. That is because it the the most recent set people remember when considering cards - who remembers by heart all the cards in Ancient Sanctuary compared to Absolute Powerforce? In real terms, an Ultra Rare from "The Shining Darkness" will be worth more then an Ultra from "The Duelist Genesis", simply because "The Shining Darkness" is a more recent set and there is less of it on the secondary market as a whole compared to "The Duelist Gensis".
3. Market Availability
Following on from Number 2, the more copies of a card that on the secondary market, the lower that card's value is. This also links back to number one in a sense - it's easy to pick up commons and rares, but not as easy to pick up Secret Rares. However, there are more likely to be Secret Rares from older sets on the secondary market then from newer, and so those Secrets, despite being Secrets, would have a lower market value.
4. Set Popularity
This also links to Recency, but acts as a cantributing and opposing force to card numbers. That is, the more popular a set is, the more cards from that set on a whole will exist on the secondary market. However, hard-to-find cards from unpopular sets will invariably be worth more then those from more recent sets, simply becuase there's not enough of them on the secondary market that when they do appear they are highly valuable. Go take a look at Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes for an example of this.
5. Card Ratios
Ever wonder why Gravekeeper's Spy is worth a lot compared to most rares? Or why during the Chaos era Smashing Ground went for $5 each? It's related to card ratios within packs. Within each ratio for a set of Commons, Rares, Foils, and Secrets exist ratios to determine how many of each card is printed within each set.
This is offically recognised in Short-Print commons - commons deliberately printed at a lower ratio to other commons within a set. Of course, there are those who argue that this exists with every rarity in every set, hence why some Secrets are harder to pull then others. I won't go into such an argument (most of it revolves around conspiracy theories involving Konami wanting more money by modifying ratios of highly-sought cards... why would they want to do that to their players
) but it's a small influencing factor on market availability of cards.5. Ease of Access
A card's value depends on the number of reprints it has undergone. Take Stardust Dragon. First reprinted as an Ultra/Ultimate/Ghost in The Duelist Genesis, then reprinted in a collector tin, and then in Duelist Pack Yusei as a Super Rare. The Value of Stardust Dragon as such will be lower then other Ultras which have not been reprinted as many times, even though Stardust Dragon in itself is a sought-after card by competitive players (more on that below).
Gaming Influences
1. Basic Playability
It's fairly obvious that some cards are unplayble in any competitive scene and some are. The more useful a card is to a compteitive player, the more valuable it is.
2. Archetype
If a card exists within a certain archetype then that card will usually be worth more then the random cards that don't quite fit into an obvious archetype. This also applies between archetpyes - the more successful an archetype is on a comptetitive level, the more valueable the cards within that archetpye will be compared to cards from a not-as-successful one.
3. Archtype Compatibility
Even if a card does not specifically exist within an archetype, if a card is compatible with a successful archetype then it's value will increase. An example I can easily point to is Icarus Attack in Blackwings, or Beckoning Light in Lightsworn. Sometimes, cards outside of most archetypes are compatible with each other to the point that they form an archtype within themselves - the main example of this is 'Stun', formed from cards that can deny effects or resources to an opponent that their decks would ordinarily use in their strategies and simplifing the game in favour of the Stun deck.
4. Generic Compatibility
This category is for those cards that can work well in almost any archetype regardless of theme. Such cards are commonly referred to as 'staples' of a deck, and are used by most competitive players. Examples include Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, Mirror Force, Brain Control, and so on. Other 'staples' are related to themes, but work well in any archetype that follows that theme - a common example is Dark Armed Dragon in any deck with DARK monsters.
5. Archetpe Usefulness
Within each archetype there will inevitably be certain cards within that archetype that are more useful then others. Though an archtype may be successful in a compteitive level, not all those cards within that archetype will be seen as useful by competitive players. Those cards which are become more valuable then those that aren't.
6. Ease of Access
This may sound like the same point above in Market Influences, but refers to a different ease of access. What I mean by this is that the more a card can be accessed within an archetype, the more useful it is on a whole, thus increasing its usefulness and value. XX-Saber Emmersblade and XX-Saber Darksoul, the searchers of the X-Saber set are seen as highly valuable because together they can search most monsters in the X-Saber deck (Darksoul technically does this by himself, but Emmersblade is a battle-searcher). Whatever these cards can search and are seen as useful by competitive players also rise in value, thus increasing the cost of the whole archetype.
On the other hand, a card may have an overwhelming effect, but if it is difficult to pull out, then the card isn't seen as valuable and so isn't worth as much. One example is The Wicked Avatar, whom can overpower almost any monster in the game and deny Spells and Traps for two turns, but requires three monsters to be Tributed for its Tribute Summon. Such a card is seen as too difficult to summon for its effect, and so therefore isn't seen as valuable.
Conclusion
As I said before, this is only meant to be a rough guide of factors that influence the price of a card. Still, it would be good to keep these in mind when buying, trading, or selling cards.
- ItemfinderDeluxe
